


Something to Believe in

by Mooshkamoogle



Category: Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch (Video Game)
Genre: Family, Family Feels, Found Family, Future Fic, Gen, Lost Hero, Memory Loss, Past Memories, Past Relationship(s), return of a hero, true self
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-04
Updated: 2019-03-28
Packaged: 2019-10-04 04:45:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,541
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17298029
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mooshkamoogle/pseuds/Mooshkamoogle
Summary: During a rough part in Oliver's life, he makes a bold choice and casts Take Heart on himself, taking away all of his belief. He stopped believing in all magic, and in the very adventure he went on to save the world. Now, he's an adult, and that very world is in danger again.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you guys enjoy the first chapter! I'm excited about this, I've had this idea bouncing around in my head, for forever! I just couldn't wait to finish my other fics so I could start this one! So, I gave in and wrote it!

Oliver was an adult. He had gone through high school, and college, he had a job, had a relationship (though he wasn't in one now), and he had moved away from his small town to the big city. He was an adult. He did everything that came with adulthood. Even the losing imagination part…

It had happened years ago, he was young and stressed, everything felt awful. He wanted to escape to another world, and he had that ability he could have done it easily. But Oliver also knew he couldn't leave everything behind, not after everything he'd been through. So he made a choice, he chose to forget about the other world. To make his life in his world easier.

Was it a smart choice? Probably not. But it was too late. Oliver took his wand and cast a spell on himself, taking the belief from his heart without thinking of the consequences. When he did, he then took his wand, spell book, and locket, and hide them away in a box, vowing to never look at them again.

And so, the other world, all he did for it, and his friends faded away from his memory. “Childhood imagination” he called it. A way to cope with his mother's death. However, along with all of that, he lost his belief in other things as well. All magic and joy were gone from his life. His looked at the world blankly, his imagination crumbled away.

“You've changed!” His friends told him, “You aren't yourself anymore!”

But he ignored them. Who cared if he changed? If anything he thought his life was better, he focused on his school and on… on… well, he only focused on school.

Now he only focused on his job, he worked in accounting in a cold office building. Typing away at his desk and going straight home when he was done.

“Hi, Oliver!” one is his coworkers leaned into his cubicle from her own, “Doing anything exciting this weekend?”

“No.” Oliver didn't even look up to respond.

“Really? Nothing?” She pestered him, “Not going anywhere with your girlfriend?”

“No.” He sighed and continued to work, “She broke up with me always.”

“Aw, I'm sorry to hear that!” She was really being sympathetic, not that it mattered to Oliver, “Hey, cheer up buddy! There are other fish in the sea!”

“I don't care as much as you seem to think I do.” Oliver stopped typing as he spoke and turned to look at her, he gave her an annoyed expression.

“Oh, well…” she glanced around desperate to keep the conversation alive, her eyes caught sight of a picture on his desk, it had a woman and a young boy smiling on it, she pointed at it “Hey, Oliver, who's that?”

“Hm?” He followed her hand to see the picture, he stared for a moment, “That's my mother.”

“And the little boy?”

“Me. Obviously.”

She smiled sweetly, “You were so cute!” She stepped into the cubicle to get a better look, “And your mom is so pretty!”

Oliver nodded in agreement, “She played music in an orchestra. She had concerts and everything…” He continued, remembering his childhood fondly. 

“Yeah? What did she play?” She was thriving, she had never gotten Oliver to talk to her this much before.

“A cello. She was really good.” Oliver was starting to smile, “I actually wanted her to teach me how to play someday, but she never got the chance.”

Without thinking the next question was asked, “Oh? Why not? I mean it’s never too late to learn y'know.”

Oliver's face quickly fell, his mood dropped and he turned back to his computer screen, “She died when I was a kid. From a heart attack.”

“I'm sorry! I had no idea!” She quickly apologized, “That's awful!”

“It is.” He was back to his normal expressionless self, “You should get back to work. We've wasted enough time as is.”

Quietly she walked back to her own desk, the feeling of guilt clouding her mind. Oliver didn't talk to anyone he didn't need to talk to for the rest of the day. 

In fact, he started to grow even farther apart from his coworkers, uninterested in the things they talked about. He was valuable to the company, but he just didn't get along with his coworkers.

It was always like this, but then something strange happened. Oliver had a dream, he was a kid again and he wore that silly outfit from when he used to pretend to be a wizard, he was running to a kingdom a wand in one and a spellbook in the other.

He slowed to a stop as he approached the entrance way, a woman stood there with a smile.

“It's been too long, Oliver,” she said, planting a hand on his head, “we missed you!”

“Cassiopeia!” Oliver gave her a big hug, “I've missed you all too!”

“Then come back to us Oliver,” she knelt down in front of him, “please, we need your help!”

“What?” The world began to fade away from them, Oliver looked around, “What do you mean, Cassie?” He asked as she began to drift away from him, “Cassiopeia!” Oliver was an adult again as he desirably tried to reach out to her, “What do you mean?!”

“Cassie!” He shot straight up in bed, his heart pounding, he took a few deep breaths. That girl… She was from his childhood games… she was the bad guy, but he had saved her and she became good again. But why on Earth did he have a dream about her?

Slowly he laid himself back down and fell back asleep. The next he was almost late for work, even though he usually showed up rather early every day. It was something his coworkers noticed.

He hurried to his desk and got to work as quickly as he could. He wasn't disheveled but he did look like he was in a rush. His curly hair, which was usually smoothed back with gel, now bounced freely as it used too. It made him look a lot friendlier.

“Oliver, there you are!” A male coworker laughed, “We were starting to get worried! Laurie thought you might've died!”

“I did not!” Laurie, the coworker from the other day, laughed too, “You suck Ben! But he's right, we were worried. What happened to you this morning?”

He looked up at them, his blue eyes seemingly wider than usual, and his fluffy hair making him look almost younger.

“I...I had a rough time sleeping last night, that's all.” He said quickly, “It's nothing serious.”

“Oh, man.” Ben shrugged, “Exciting night or something?”

“No, nothing like that!” Oliver turned to his computer, quickly logging in and pulling up his work.

“Really?” Ben leaned forward, “Were you out with a special lady perhaps?”

“Oh leave him alone, Ben!” Laurie gasped, “He just got out of a relationship.”

“Even more reason for him to be with a gal,” Ben smirked at her.

Oliver let out a deep sigh and turned to look Ben in the eyes, “If you must know, I had a nightmare alright?” He snapped, “Now would you leave me alone?!”

Laurie gasped excitedly, “A bad dream?! I used to read all this dream analysis stuff, I was really into that stuff in high school! Okay,” she sat down in front of him and looked into his eyes, “tell me all about the dream!”

Oliver groaned and squeezed his eyes shut, annoyed. But if it got her to leave quickly, then he'd have to give in.

“Fine… I was a little kid again, dressed in a costume ai had when I was younger, and I was in this big field running towards this old-timey kingdom, at the entrance there was this lady from this story I used to make-up as a kid. She said something like ‘we've missed you’ and then she told me that I needed to come back, I think she meant to that kingdom because they needed they needed help. She didn't elaborate any more than that, and then everything started fading away…”

Laurie watched him thoughtfully before answering, “Well, that lady could have been representing you really, sometimes when we dream about fictional characters it's because we relate to them in some way, and her asking for your help could have your brain telling you that it was time for you to admit you needed help.”

Oliver stared at her blankly, what could he possibly need help in? He sighed and shut his eyes again.

“It's just something to think about,” Laurie stood up, “I mean, this stuff could just be a load of crap for all we know!” She smiled at him and began to walk off, not before saying “Just give it some thought, okay? Who knows, maybe you do need help?”

Laurie was right of course, Oliver did need help. But he didn't even know it. Luckily for him, the only people who could help him were already on their way.

Oliver stepped into his apartment, it was a really nice one. He could get a house if he wanted too, but that would be too big, and the apartment was closer to work. He dropped his bag on the ground and slowly walked towards his room, shutting the door behind him as he began to change into his pajamas. He planned on going to bed early.

But just as Oliver started to get into bed, he heard something strange. Muffled voices. Never once had he heard his neighbors talking before, the walls were too thick for that, and it didn't sound like the voices were shouting. In fact, it more of sounded like they were talking...in the next room over… as in, his living room… 

Oliver stared at his door fearfully, slowly he crept over and placed his ear on the door and listened in.

“Well, darling little brother,” a man said sarcastically, “if that spell really did take us to him, then where is he?”

“I don't know brother!” Another man snapped back, “I'm sure he's here somewhere!”

“Would you two stop arguing” A woman groaned, “We came to ask for Oliver's help, at least act like you've changed in all the years he's been gone!”

Slowly, Oliver pushed the door open, catching a peek at the people in his home. There were three adults, all of them dressed bizarrely, and they all had accents, none of which were American.

Oliver gulped, then took a deep breath and pushed the door open, the three turned to look at him, and he stared back, something felt familiar about them.

“Who... Who are you?” He stuttered, clearly terrified of the three of them.

“Oliver?” The woman asked, stepping forward.

“Yes? What do you want?” He glanced around for some sort of weapon.

“Oliver, it's me, Esther!” She beamed, “And, I know he looks different now that he's shaved and taken a bath, but that's Swaine!”

“Hey!” Swaine bumped her on the back of the head, “Don’t be an ass, Esther!”

She snickered at him and then smiled at Oliver, who still looked rather terrified.

“What about him? Who’s that?” Oliver pointed at the second man.

“I didn't think I'd changed that much…” he frowned, “I'm Marcassin, remember?”

Esther now looked concerned, in fact, they all did. “Oliver, what's wrong with you? We're your friends! Remember? We defeated Shadar and the White Witch! We saved the whole world together!”

Oliver blinked, all that stuff, their names, the quests, everything! It was from that story he made up as a kid, to help him with his mom's death! None of it was real!

“Oi, what's with you Ollie-boy?” Suddenly something jumped in front of Oliver, frowning at him, “Went and forgot us, didn't you?”

“N-no!” Oliver shook his head, “That's not it at all!”

“There’s nice if ya had better things to do then visit yer old friends, huh?” He shook his head, his lantern shaking back and forth, “How cruel!”

Oliver stuttered and stumbled over his words, unsure of what he should say to them, they all watched him expectantly.

“Why would I remember?” He finally said, “I mean, it's not like any of this was real! It was all just some game!”

They all looked shocked, unsure of how to even respond to that. After all, he did just say that none of them were real after all.

“Just a game?” Marcassin was the first to speak up, “What do you mean just a game? That was our lives at risk, and you thought it was a game?!”

“Oliver, you actually died!” Swaine joined in, “Or did you just forget that little bit?”

“I made it all up!” Oliver flung his arms into the air in annoyance, “It was just something I made up to keep my mind distracted after my mom died!”

“A good chunk of that adventure happened because your mom died!” Esther said with confusion, “You were trying to bring her back to life! If the adventure was meant to distract you from her death, then you did a pretty shitty job of it!”

Oliver groaned loudly and rubbed his face “I'm dreaming or something! There's no way this is real!” He turned around so he couldn't see any of them, “That’s it, I'm going to bed! Then in the morning, you'll all be gone and I can get on with my life! Good night, strange figments of my imagination! None of you are real!”

He walked into his bedroom and slammed the door shut behind him. He flopped onto his bed, stressed and absolutely exhausted.

The trio stared at each other in an awkward silence. They waited for a few minutes, but Oliver didn't come back out. So the three settled themselves onto the couch and began to talk quietly.

“Why doesn't he remember us?” Esther brought her knees up to her chest, she was very obviously upset by the situation.

“En' it obvious?” Drippy hopped onto the table, his arms folded, “He’s broken-hearted, it’s clear as the bloomin’ day!”

“Eh?” Swaine looked surprised, “Are you serious?”

“Fraid, so…” Drippy, sat down on the table, annoyed and slightly confused.

“But, who could've done this?” Marcassin clutched his staff tightly, “I thought only Oliver had the ability to even begin to touch people's hearts. But even then, he can’t take enough from someone's heart to turn them broken-hearted.”

“Not exactly…” Drippy said in an odd tone, the others glanced at each other then looked back at the fairy, “See, Ollie-boy’s got the spell, right? Take Heart. That doesn't exactly got limits, does it? Only thing keeping him from breaking hearts back then was ‘cause he was a good person an’ all. Wanted to help people he did.”

“I don't understand…” Esther sat up, “What are you trying to say Drippy?”

Drippy sighed, he looked like he was struggling to say something, he didn't want to say it, “I'm saying… Ollie-boy… he… Well, we already know he can take a piece of his own heart, don't we?”

Swaine shot right up, almost looking angry, “Are you saying Oliver did this to himself?!” 

“That's impossible!” Marcassin snapped, thumping his staff on the ground.

“I'm saying it’s the only possibility!” Drippy glared at the both of them, “Not saying I like it!”

Esther sat back, looking up at the ceiling, “What are we supposed to do now? None of us know that spell… not to mention we don't even have his locket…”

“See, that's where the good news comes in!” Drippy said, “If Oliver broke his own heart, then the piece if that heart would've been stored in the locket right? So, if we can find his locket…” he trailed off, waiting for the other's to finish his sentence, but they all watched him expectantly, “Oi… Ollie-boy would've gotten that one…” he sighed before continuing “If we find the locket, then all we have to do is open it up and release his heart!” 

“And we get our Oliver back?” Esther asked hopefully.

“Precisely!” Drippy snapped and smiled at her.

“But where is it? I didn’t see it on him earlier…” Swaine pondered.

“Well, he was getting ready for bed it seemed, brother.” Marcassin gave Swaine a look, a look only siblings can ever really give each other, “People don’t usually wear necklaces to bed.”

Swaine glared right back at him, “Oh, hush you!”

Drippy just shook his head and directed his attention to Esther and only Esther, “We should get lookin’ then, huh?”

Esther nodded and stood up, she began poking around the apartment, and it wasn't long before the other two joined in. The three began digging through drawers, looking behind books, trying to find any trace of the locket.

Drippy meanwhile gently pushed open the door to Oliver's room, and stepped inside, Oliver was already asleep, though he tossed and turned. His face twisted, like he was having a nightmare. The fairy quietly began looking around the room, bit kept glancing back at Oliver, worriedly.

As he climbed up to the bedside table, he became even more worried, Oliver’s looked as though it was twisted in pain, and he shook with fear.

The tear fairy sighed, how long had Oliver been having nightmares? He could only hope it hadn't been too long. As the other's searched around in the other rooms, Drippy sat down next to Oliver and patted his hair.

“I promised Alicia I’d protect…” He said sadly, “And look what’s happened… Couldn't even save you from yourself…”

Before he could say anything, Oliver grabbed him and squeezed him tightly, seeming to relax a bit. It was like when he was younger and Drippy was still a doll. 

In Oliver dreams, he recalled moments from the past, from his adventure, his heart didn't believe them to be true, but something deep down was trying to show him what he had lost.

Oliver dreamed of all if his loss and the battles he was forced to endure, he dreamed of the pain and it ate at his heart.

When a voice spoke to him…

“Oliver… they have been trying to reach you for some time, you mustn't turn your back on them now…” An old familiar voice spoke to him, “You did so much to help them. You cannot leave them when they need you most.”

“Who's there?” Oliver found himself standing in a white room, he turned around quickly, looking every which way for the source of the voice.

“I am disappointed.” The voice chuckled, “I expect better from you.”

Oliver caught sight of a man, he leaned on a cane and stared at Oliver from under his hood.

“Have you forgotten me as well?” He asked, “Soon you'll tell me you have forgotten Alicia as well.”

“You… You're Shadar… You were the bad guy…” Oliver thought back, trying hard to remember the role this man played in the story.

“I see…” He shook his head slowly, “I brought my spirit to you, to help you, and you can't even remember my true name?”

“I…” Oliver rubbed his head, “What’s happening? Why is this happening to me? What do you people want?!”

Shadar took a deep breath and shook his head slowly, “Oliver, listen to me, you find your locket, with the locket you will find the truth. You don't have much time. They're looking for you.”

Oliver stared at him silently, his eyes wide. He stepped closer, “Who? Who's looking for me?”

Shadar tried to speak but found himself beginning to fade. He looked at Oliver and quickly repeated, “Go to the locket, Oliver!”

“Wait! You can't leave!” Oliver tried to reach out for him, “Please! You need to answer my question!” Shadar faded into nothingness and the room became light, “You can't just leave! Lucien!”

Oliver's eyes snapped open, morning light shone onto his face. He lay still for a moment, as his face was warmed by the sunlight. He slowly shut his eyes, relaxing back into bed.

“Wait!” He suddenly bolted upright, and he grabbed his clock, his eyes widened with fear, it was the middle of the day, the middle of a workday, “Oh, no! Oh no! No, no, no, no!” He flung himself out of bed and began to get ready as quick as he could.

“Oi, Ollie-boy, what're you flipping out about?!” Drippy yawned.

“I'm late!” Oliver wailed, “I've never been late before! I've never even missed a day!”

He rushed out of his room with his things but soon slowed down, they were still here. They all watched him with concerned looks. Oliver suddenly recalled his dream, as he looked at the three familiar faces in his home.

“Lucien…” he muttered and looked at the ground, then spoke louder, “Do you guys… Do you know anything about a locket?”

“We do indeed.” Marcassin answered, “Why do you ask?” 

“I need to find a locket…Do you know what it looks like?” Oliver asked hopefully.

“Yeah, it was green,” Swaine remembered, “it had a little cap on the top, shaped like a heart. You remember? You wore it around your neck all the time.”

Oliver nodded, “Yes, I know where that is!” He put on his coat and grabbed his keys quickly, “I’m guessing you guys are going to follow me?”

“There's quick of you!” Drippy hopped up to Oliver, “That's the Oliver we know!”

“Fine.” Oliver sighed, “Come with me. We're going to Motorville, that's where that locket is”

The group smiled at him excitedly. Oliver couldn't figure out why he was doing, but something pulled him along. It wasn't just Lucien or Cassiopeia, but something else called him back home. Something he couldn't ignore.


	2. The Travels

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group began their travels towards Motorville, the road is long and it's starting to get late.

Oliver poured himself a large cup of coffee, as he prepared to leave. He has never missed a day of work before, now he’d be missing several days in a row due to “emergency family issues”, as he told his boss.

Obviously, he was a little stressed. Swaine watched him drink his coffee nervously, Oliver glanced at him and gave him a questioning look. The bags under his eyes were more apparent than before, and his judgemental looked burned holes into Swaine’s forehead.

“That's your fourth cup of coffee,” Swaine said in response to the look, “I think you're good.”

“What would you know?” Oliver hissed at him over the brim of the cup before taking another sip. Swaine looked surprised, before reminding himself of Oliver’s broken-heartedness.

Oliver carried the cup to his living room and set it on the table, he looked over at Mr.Drippy and stared for a moment. Before shaking his head. Out of everyone that had appeared in his home the night before, Drippy had to be the strangest one. What even was he? Not any mythical creature Oliver had ever heard of before.

It was obvious he was trying very hard to try to understand his situation, but having quite a lot of trouble doing so. He looked at his reflection in the coffee and considered chugging it and getting the fifth cup.

He finished packing some essentials, while his new companions watched on. They sat quietly, trying very hard not to ask him what several of the objects were, but man, were they struggling. No one wanted to say anything, the silence was deafening, and breaking it would only lead to an awkward conversation that would trail off quickly.

Esther fiddled with the harp in her lap, gently plucking at the strings, not hard enough to make any loud or really noticeable noise, but if you were listening carefully you’d hear the gentle notes. Marcassin watched her for a while, for casting a gaze over to his older brother, who gave him the same Awkward Sibling in New Place look.

Oliver glanced over at the group, all of them avoiding eye contact with him, in an attempt to avoid being awkward, which of course didn’t work. Oliver sighed and rubbed the back of his head, before looking at Esther.

“You uh…You know any songs on that?” He gestured vaguely at her harp.

Esther looked down at the instrument and back at him, “Oh, uh, yeah…” She nodded, Oliver nodded too.

“Uh…” He thought for a second, “Why don’t you, um, play something? That’d be neat… I guess.”

“Oh, yeah sure.” Esther smiled at him, and sat up, preparing herself. She shut her eyes and thought of the best song she could. When the music started, a wave of calm washed over the group. Oliver shut his eyes and listened, his body going on auto-pilot to move.

He scooped up the fairy and sat down on the couch, holding him on his lap, as he took in the sound of the music. He leaned back and took a deep breath, before opening his eyes and looking at them again. The music breaking the awful silence, as the brothers began to quietly chat.

Oliver stood up again without thinking, placing the fairy on his shoulders as he used too, as he finally finished packing his bag. Oliver actually began smiling peacefully as he zipped up his small suitcase.  
He watched Esther play her music, as he watched everything began feeling so familiar. The sound of her song, the brothers chatting, the fairy on his shoulders with the occasional jingle of his lantern. Marcassin looked at Oliver, and for the first time since they got there, truly saw him as the young man who once helped save their world. The smile on his face was so fitting and natural.

But the song came to a close, and with the ending note, the darkness that had taken root in Oliver’s heart made itself noticed again, pulling away from the familiarity and joy from the scene. Oliver’s smiled faded and he picked up the suitcase, casting his broken eyes over the group.

“Let’s go. If we want to make any good time, then we should leave now.” He grabbed his keys and walked to the door, the others scrambling to follow him.

The young man leads the group down to the parking lot for his building, and over to his car, which thankfully was big enough to fit the whole group. Though that was odd because he didn’t exactly have friends, so why would he need a car big enough for more than one person?

Oliver opened the driver's side door, and climbed into the car, he glanced over realizing none of the others were getting in. He sighed heavily and got out of the car again.

“Get in.” He said opening the doors for them, “It’s just a car.”

“What’s that?” Swaine asked, his eyes wide with excitement from the new technology in front of him.

“A form on transportation.” Oliver answer quickly, “Get. In.”

“Don’t have to tell me twice!” Swaine hopped into the car quickly.

“But I did tell you twice.” the young man said with a tone of such exhaustion that it was hard to believe he wasn't an old man, “You two, in the car.” He looked at Esther and Marcassin and glared. Marcassin hurriedly followed his brother, but Oliver stopped Esther.

“There isn't more room in the back for you, you're up front with me.” He pointed to the second seat in the front, he looked at Drippy “You can just sit wherever I guess…”

Once he got everyone in the car, he then had to take time to show them how to buckle their seatbelts, which took longer than it should've. Finally, he sat down in the driver's seat and buckled himself in. With a heavy sigh, something that became common for him this morning, the car started and pulled out of the driveway.

On his way out of the city he passed by his business place, he glanced out the window to see Laurie and Ben they were chatting while Ben was on a smoke break. Oliver was stopped at the stoplight near the pair. Laurie glanced up, catching sight of Oliver.

She started to wave when she noticed the other people in his car. Oliver quickly looked away and drove off as the stoplight turned green.

“Did you see that?” Laurie asked.

“Uh, maybe.” Ben puffed out some smoke, “Depends on what you saw.”

“I saw Oliver.”

“Oh yeah, then I saw it too.” He nodded, “Did you see those other guys though?”

“Yeah, ” Laurie nodded, “Who do you think they were?”

“Who knows?” Ben puffed out more smoke, before changing the conversation back to what they were chatting about before. 

Oliver drove off, wishing none of this was happening and that he could just go into work and have a normal day. Instead, he was stuck going on a “magical” quest.

“How long until we get to Motorville?” Esther caught Oliver's attention.

“Well, considering when we started driving, it could take about two days.” Oliver checked his GPS, as he turned onto the highway.

“Two days?” Swaine sighed, “Why'd you move so far from home anyway?”

Oliver shrugged, “I had no reason to stay.”

“What about-” Esther started, but she was cut off by Oliver turning on the radio, and music filling up the car.

The group drove in partial silence, the only sound was the music from the radio.it wasn't that they didn't want to talk, more of, they didn't want to distract Oliver while he drove. Not to mention they were busy looking at all the strange electronics and odd technology of Oliver's world.

“Are you sure sister?” The younger sister watched from the enchanted device.

“Yes. He's the one.” The elder sister cast her evil gaze down on the young man in the car, “If he makes it back to our world, he will defeat us.”

“His power is weakened, sister.” The younger sister frowned, “He does not seem like a threat to us.”

“His power is weak now, but give him time and he will become unstoppable.” The elder sister slammed her first in the table, making her little sister jumped, “You know what to do, Little Sister, I don't care how you stop him. Just stop him.”

The elder sister stormed out, her little sister watched in silence, before casting her gentle gaze on the device. She was kinder than her sister, but she knew she couldn't disappoint her. Otherwise, there'd be consequences.

“He is weak, one spell should be enough…” she concluded, before raising her glowing hand and sending an evil curse towards the man.

It dark out now, Oliver was driving into the night, his strange passengers had fallen asleep by now, and he had no one to talk to, or distract him.

A sudden wave of exhaustion fell over him like a blanket, he blinked, trying to keep the sleep at bay until he could pull over. He kept his eyes focused on the road, but they began to close and his head began to drop. He snapped up again quickly.

“I need to stay focussed!” He thought to himself, but it was getting more difficult by the second.

In the distance, he saw a turn approaching, they were on a rather tall hill, below them was a lake. Oliver thought about this, about how dangerous it would be if he fell asleep right there. Hoping the fear would keep him awake.

But it didn't. Darkness overtook his vision, and he felt his hands drop off the wheel. Then silence.

The younger sister watched content that her magic worked, and her big sister would soon take control. But it almost felt wrong to watch, so she quickly walked away. Not witnessing the upcoming crash.

“OLIVER!” A voice screamed.

And he snapped awake, he saw the turn fast approaching and realized the water that waited for them at the bottom of the hill.

He quickly grabbed the wheel and swerved away from it, while also slamming on the brakes, in hopes to stop any other potential accident. The car skidded leaning on two wheels for a few seconds, before landing back on all fours. Oliver sat there gasping, his eyes wide with fear, he turned, checking on his passengers, who were obviously awoken by the incident.

“What the hell happened?” Swaine held one hand over his heart the other held onto his little brother protectively, catching his breath.

“Are you all okay?” Oliver asked, looking them over from the front seat, they nodded slowly. He sighed heavily, “I seem to have bad luck with cars near water…” he tried to joke, but no one laughed.

“Seriously, what happened?” Swain asked again

“There… there was an animal in the road.” Oliver lied and stepped out of the car, checking it for any dents or scrapes. He circled around to passenger's side door, there was one huge scrape on the side, where the car had grazed the railing he sighed heavily and looks into the window at Esther, who watch him with wide eyes. He gave her a thumbs up, trying to tell her it was okay, but she just looked confused.

He climbed back into the driver's side, now wide awake, “One more time, is everyone alright?”

“Yes, we're fine.” Marcassin responded, “Are you okay?”

“Yeah.” Oliver started the engine again, and slowly started to drive again, before picking up speed and returning to the speed limit, “We'll find someplace to stop. So we can all rest.”

The sister's magic had failed. This time. But Oliver may couldn’t always be lucky.

The group reached a motel, thankful to find there was an open room. They checked in and quickly sorted who would sleep where. But they were all still wide awake from the almost crash. They sat in their respective sleeping areas, talking quietly.

Oliver gazed out the window, he couldn’t bear to think about what would’ve happened to them if one someone hadn’t called out his name. He opened his mouth, so he could say “Thank you.” to whoever called out to him. But paused, he had no idea who it was. It didn’t really sound like any of them. He furrowed his eyebrows, who was that?

“We need to solve this quickly.” Marcassin leaned on his hand, he looked frustrated.

“I know, Marc, but we’re going as fast as we can!” Swaine was laying down and staring out the window.

“My kingdom is at risk, brother! Our kingdom!” His voice sounded hurt.

“I know, I know!” Swaine huffed, “But there’s not much we can do until Oliver’s back to his old self again.”

“What happened to your kingdom?” Oliver, who had been listening in, turned to look at them.

“She… She…” he sighed and rubbed his face, “The Queen, she lead an assault on Hamelin. She spared everyone who surrendered. The civilians were smart, but most of my guards…” Marcassin glanced at Swaine, who was watching him carefully, “They went down fighting. I would’ve been killed too if it weren’t for Gascon.”

Swaine looked away, there was something he wanted to say, but chose not too.

Esther hugged her knees, “Me and dad were chased out of Al Mamoon by her troops.”

“I got her talk,” Swaine piped up, “before we escaped. She wanted me to join her, be on her side, but I refused.”

“Why did she want you?” Marcassin stood up, he looked extremely worried for his brother.

“I can’t use magic.” Swaine shrugged.

“Why would that matter?”

“Ah… I shoulda mentioned earlier…” He sat up, and moved so he could see everyone else, “See the thing is, her goal isn’t just world domination, she wants… she wants to rid our world of all magic.”

“What?” Esther gasped, horrified.

“That can’t be possible! Her sister, she was using magic!” Marcassin stared at Swaine in disbelief.

“Not true magic, not like yours and Oliver’s.” Swaine gestured to the redhead, who was watching this all go down in plain confusion, “She’s wearing an amulet that grants her magical abilities for as long as she keeps it on. Hence why her big sister even trusts her in the first place.”

“Uh, question?” Oliver raised his hand up, “So why would this lady even want to get rid of all magic?”

“Didn’t get that part of her tragic backstory.” Swaine shrugged, starting to lay back down.

“O-okay…” Oliver nodded, “Follow up question, if what you guys say is true, I’m some sort of wizard, right? So, why on Earth would you want me to fight some lady whose main goal is to destroy all magic! I can’t beat that!”

“I believe you can, Oliver.” Esther stood up and walked over to him, “You’re our only hope, you did so much before, you’ve faced many powerful enemies before, she’ll be nothing compared to you!”

“Why can’t you guys fight her? I mean, if you guys were actually with me through that supposed ‘magical quest’ shouldn’t you be able to fight her without me?” Oliver seemed to almost be pleading with them.

They all glanced at each other, waiting for one of them to start talking first. They all seemed a bit taken aback by his pleading.

“I mean, let’s think about this logically! I can’t fight, I’ve never known how to fight! I’m just some twiggy office worker,” Oliver started ranting at them, “If I did go on that magic quest all those years ago, then I haven’t been keeping up the practice of using magic and-and fighting with it, so really, isn’t it better that one of you help?”

“Wet tried fighting her on our own,” Esther stood up and walked over to Oliver, her gaze was fierce, “We came at her with everything we had and it wasn’t enough, that’s why we need you, she won’t know about you or your magic, she won’t be prepared. You’re our secret weapon!”

“But I can’t do magic!” Oliver shouted in frustration.

“Not yet!” Esther shouted back at him, “We’re getting you your heart back, you’re helping us fight, and you’re saving our world! End of story!” She walked back to her bed and lay down, “We should go bed. We have a long trip in the morning.”

The boys looked at each other in silent shock. After a few more moments Swaine shrugged and closed his eyes, “She’s right you know.” was all he added on as he made himself comfortable.

Oliver and Marcassin glanced at each other but said nothing. Instead, they both quietly went off to bed. There was a lot to do in the next day, though, they only knew part of it, one can never really know the full scope of the things destined to happen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm excited to give you guys a glimpse of the villains for this story, I have a lot I want to show with them, and I'm excited for things to really get rolling. Swaine has an important role to play in this story, but I don't think any of you can guess what it is!


	3. Old Town, Familiar sights

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the almost crash of the night before, the group finally makes it to Motorville. Oliver finds himself lost in memories of old friends and old adventures, he ends up a little too busy to help with the search for the locket.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will say, I bent the rules a bit for some things in this chapter. To help the story a bit more. Nothing major, don't worry. Anyways, sorry it took so long, please enjoy!

“Tell me, little sister,” She patrolled circle around her younger sister who nervously watched her walk, “ I gave you simple instructions, did I not?”

“You did sister…”

“Mmm, I see.” She nodded and placed a hand on her sister’s head, “So then, tell me why that man is still alive!” she hissed to her sister, gripping her head tightly.

“I….I don’t know…” Her little sister winced in pain, “I’m sorry…”

The elder sister pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed a heavy sigh. To her, this was a simple request. She wanted him dead. Was that so hard to ask?

She turned to her younger sister and lifted her by her arms, placing her on her feet. Despite now standing, she was still dreadfully small, she held herself, curled in, doing everything possible to make herself seem smaller in the presence of her big sister.

“You will try again,” she loomed over her younger sister with a frightening gaze, “this time, you will not fail me!”

“Y-yes...sister…” she squeaked out. The elder sister nodded in approval, and with her arms held neatly behind her back, she left the room, an evil smirk plastered across her face. The little sister lowered herself to the ground, “I’m sorry…” she whispered to no one, “but I cannot risk failing her again, please forgive me if we are ever to meet!”

A dark cloud formed in her hands as a sinister spell formed, one she was sure would kill him. She wished for another way, one that didn’t require the death of one so precious, but it was her or him, and she had to think about self preservation.

Maybe it was that small seed of doubt, or maybe she just wasn’t very strong, but whatever it was would by them just enough time to save him.

When the group finally pulled into Motorville, the sun was still on it’s way up into the sky. A red hue illuminated to the town. As they drove they could see pulled hurrying off to work, saying goodbye to their families, or just getting ready to start their days. Oliver drove by his old home, he almost stopped in surprise, it was empty, with a big FOR SALE sign out front. Had no one really moved in since he had left, or maybe they moved out recently…? Whatever the case, the house was empty now. He continued down the street, trying to put it out of his mind. He pulled up to the side of the road (where he was allowed to park) and stopped the car. They all climbed out, stretching and yawning as they stepped into the sunlight. Oliver began to walk down the street, his hands in his pockets, and a tired look on his face.

He had stopped the car nearby Leila’s store, but in reality he wanted to go over to her house. Despite his bitter attitude, he did sort of miss home, and that missing of home made him want to walk the whole way. He strolled along the streets, thinking back to his childhood, from what he could remember it was completely normal. No magic at all. He thought this would make him happy, but for some reason, it only made him feel more bitter.

He stopped in front of the door to Leila’s store, was she open? It was kind of early. He leaned it a bit to look through the glass. But before he could even get a good look he found himself getting thrown to the ground by another human, who shouted a warning far too late. Pain shot through his body, as his companions leaped back, avoiding getting hit by either him or the other person.

Oliver groaned, he didn’t even have a chance to shield his head from the fall, and it really hurt. He sat up, pushing the other person up with him, and rubbed his head. Checking himself for any serious damage, with an angry he sigh he looked at the person who had caused their fall.

It was a woman, she had short blonde hair, and was wearing a t-shirt and jeans, over those however she was wearing various protective gear, shoulder pads, elbow pads, things like that. It didn’t Oliver long to figure out why. On her was a pair of red rollerskates.The wheels were very scuffed up, and it looked like she used them a lot.

“I’m so sorry, sir!” She was quickly dusting herself off, then dusting Oliver off, “I-I didn’t ruin your suit did I?”

Oliver was wearing a business suit, he only wore business suits, he grumbled and picked himself up, holding out a hand for her to use in order to stand up. No matter how broken hearted he got, nothing would keep him from those small acts of kindness. She graciously took it and wobbled to her feet, her cheeks with flush with embarrassment. 

“Again, I am so, so sorry, I didn’t….” She trailed off before she could even finish, she was staring at him, he was suddenly embarrassed, unsure what to do with her staring so intently, she squinted, then reached up and rustled his hair before speaking again, “Oliver? Is that you?”

Oliver suddenly looked surprised, he looked her up and down, yet there was no recognition in his eyes. He frowned and tapped his chin, then reached up and moved her hand from his head, “Yes, I’m Oliver, but who are you?”

“It’s me!” She pointed at her own chest in excitement, “Remember? Myrtle?” She had a huge smile and she son like the sun, Oliver almost wanted to look away from her light, “We used to be super close, but in school. Whatever happened to… well, us?”

Oliver was still frowning, he sighed, “I remember now. You’ve changed.” her demeanor calmed as she looked at his stone cold face, “It’s good to see you again.” he adjusted his collar, and she shuffled awkwardly, then glanced behind him, her face became almost a little sad. For some reason, Oliver’s heart ached when he saw her face drop.

“Who are your friends?” She asked, her eyes locked with Esther’s and she gave the other girl a weird look, “Freaky…” she suddenly covered her mouth, implying she hadn’t meant to say that out loud, “Oh, my goodness! I’m so sorry! It’s just we look a lot alike!” she stumbled over her words, “I’m so sorry!”

Esther glanced at the boys, who were equally confused, could she actually see them? She was talking straight to her after all. Esther smiled at Myrtle, she had always wanted to properly get to know her.

“It’s alright, seriously,” Esther laughed, “I was just thinking the same thing, actually.”

“Wow,” Myrtle held out her hand to Esther, “I’m Myrtle, again, I’m so sorry!”

Esther happily shook her hand, “Esther. It’s good to finally meet you! I’ve heard about from Oliver.”

Oliver snorted and rolled his eyes. He hadn’t told her anything.

“Really? And here I thought Ollie didn’t like me anymore!” Her and Esther giggled, Myrtle wasn’t sure why but she felt like she knew this girl from somewhere, she felt connected to her. Not like love at first sight connected, like a far off memory sort of connected.

While they talked Oliver began to walk away, his face completely blank, Drippy hurried to keep up with him. Someone had to stay with him. Oliver didn’t say anything as they walked, he just let his legs carry him onward, he rounded the corner and was out of sight for the others.

Marcassin looked up, and was the first to realize they were gone. He tapped Esther and pointed, “Oliver left without us…”

Myrtle got a sad look again, turning to look the direction Oliver left in, “Doesn’t surprise me…” She sighed as though there was a heavy weight on her chest, “He used to be so… happy and nice… but then one day, he just changed. Just like that. We kept trying to figure out what we did wrong, but we never could.” she hugged herself, and shook her head, “Before we knew it, our best friend was gone. Left town without even a goodbye. He barely even calls, and if he does it’s only Ms.Leila.”

Esther looked at the ground and took a deep breath, before looking Myrtle in the eyes, “Don’t worry, we can help him! We’re getting our Oliver back, no matter what!” she sounded so determined, so completely pumped up, and so sure of herself that Myrtle couldn’t help but believe her.

“That’s good and all…” Swaine piped up, doing his usual thing and interrupting people, “But where do you think Oliver went?”  
“If I had to make a guess…” Myrtle looked back in the direction Oliver went again, and shrugged, “Probably to see either Ms.Leila or Phil.”

Oliver walked down the street, getting plenty of smiles and helloes. But he gave nothing in response, only silence and a glare. He lead himself down the street, down a path he walked time and time again as a child. He just wanted to check something, something that had rested in the back of his mind for a long time.

He stopped when he finally saw the sign, in big red letters the sign read “Phil’s Garage” it looked old, like it had been put up there a while ago. He stared for a good while, his heart began to ache again. He took and deep breath and shook his head, trying to ignore it. 

Then the garage door opened, Oliver froze in place, to nervous to move. A man walked out in a dirty jumpsuit on, he had a rag over his shoulder and goggles on his face. He might’ve seen Oliver, but it was hard to tell.

Neither person moved. He definitely saw Oliver. He reached up and moved the goggles off his eyes, and onto his head, revealing he had circular glasses underneath. He stared at Oliver blankly for a few more seconds, like he was waiting for him to talk. After way too long, he finally spoke.

“Are you just gonna stand there, kiddo?” he huffed and walked over to Oliver, taking off his grease stained gloves and shoving them in his pocket, “It’s been awhile.” He thumped his hand on Oliver’s shoulder, and looked his suit, with raised eyebrows he looked at Oliver, “Where do you work exactly?”

“Insurance company.” Oliver responded plainly.

“What department?”

“Finances.”

Phil shook his head as if he disapproved of Oliver’s life choice, then turned and walked back to the garage. Oliver followed after him. Inside there was a rather nice looking car, he could tell by the gloss that it had just been repainted, though the paint was now dry. Oliver ran his hands along it, staring fondly. This was a part of his childhood he remembered vividly, him and Phil designing and making cars. It was their dream to make the best car in the whole world back then.

“Thinking of calling her the Philmobile.” Phil gave the car a hard pat on the roof, “Think that’s a bit too cliche?”

“Only if you intend for it to break down the first time you use it.” Oliver shrugged, pacing around the car.

Phil looked a bit uncomfortable at that response, “Well, then… What do you think I should call it?”

“Don’t know.” Oliver shrugged, he looked through the front window, into the driver’s side seat, “I’d have to see how she runs first.” He leaned back and patted the car, “But I think I’ve had enough driving for a while.”

Phil grabbed his seat from his desk in the garage and sat down, leaning back in his chair and watching his old friend, “Why’s that?” he asked, now twirling a pencil between his fingers.

“It was a long trip over. I’m tired.” Then Oliver paused, just staring down at the car, he stared at the front tire before finally speaking again, “I….” he wasn’t sure why he was telling Phil this, but he did, “I almost got in a crash last night.”

Phil sat up listening intently, “What happened?”

“I was just driving, we were on a hill, there was water below us. I wasn’t even tired at first but then…” he shrugged, “I was just barely able to stop the car in time. If I hadn’t… Would’ve gone right through the railing...and…”

“Into the water below…” Phil finished for him. He tapped the pencil on his leg and looked up at Oliver, who didn’t move. He just stood there, staring blankly, “Hey, are you okay?” He stood up and walked over to Oliver, placing a hand on his shoulder.

Oliver realized silently to himself why he told Philip. The almost crash mirrored the accident from years ago so very closely. So much alike, yet so different. The reason it haunted him so much was because this time… there wouldn’t have been anyone to save him. Oliver blinked, his eyes welled with tears. Why was this just setting in for him? The fear? The hopelessness? It was crashing down on him.

“Hey…” Phil rubbed Oliver shoulder, realizing he was about to cry, “You’re safe now, okay? And you can stay in town as long as you need. We’re glad you’re here Oliver.”

Oliver looked up at him and cracked a small smile, it was rare for him to smile these days. His chest felt tight. It hurt. Oliver’s face fell, he took a deep breath again, trying to get the pain to leave, but it didn’t. He reached up and clutched his chest, his breath now shaking.

“H-hey!” Phil helped him to the ground, “Oliver, what’s happening?” Phil held his shoulders and looked around in a panic, “Oh, no...no, no, no!” He got up and ran outside, screaming for someone to call a doctor, neighbors heard the screaming and rushed to their phones, he ran back to Oliver and held him while he gasped for air. That was when his friends caught up to him.

Drippy had hid himself when Phil came out, if the others could be seen, then probably could too. He let the boys talk, waiting patiently for the others to come. It was when he heard Phil start to panic that he realized something was wrong, when he saw Oliver on the ground, he knew instantly.

“Oliver!” Esther shouted as the group ran to his side, she began reaching around in her pockets, searching for some sort of potion, but it was too late as a crowd began to gather, Oliver was carted off by an ambulance. His friends watched in quiet disbelief. Phil had gotten in to ride with Oliver, leaving the crowd of people to talk quietly.

No one moved. Esther sat in silence listening to people talk, they talked about Oliver and Phil, about his mother and his life. They referred to him so sadly. Like he was just a weak kid.

“The poor thing…”

“Just like his poor mother…”

“His life has been so sad…”

“It’s just not fair…”

Swaine placed a hand on her shoulder, and she looked up to him, he didn’t say anything. Just motioned for her to stand up. She nodded slowly and got to her feet, when she was she found Marcassin on the other side of her. Dripp stood at her feet. The group stood in silence. The crowd slowly began to clear away, going back to their lives and their own business. Still murmuring.

“Something about this doesn’t feel right…” Drippy was the first to talk, snapping the others out of their daze, “It’s feels off…”

“Of course it doesn’t feel right, did you just see what happened?” Swaine snapped looking down at the fairy, but the fairy shook his head.

“Not that sort of don’t right…” Drippy hopped up onto the nearest table so he could be more level with them, they quickly followed him, “Alright, here’s a question? What’s somethin’ Ollie has in common with his mam?”

“Their hair?” Esther pondered.

“Their general appearance.” Swaine shrugged.  
“Their magical capability.” Marcassin sounded proud.

Drippy smiled and pointed at Marcassin, who then looked pleased at getting the questions right “None of you got it!” Marcassin’s face fell and he glared at Drippy, who continued, “Think about it. Neither Ollie of Alicia have a soulmate, right? Allie not havin’ a soulmate after forcing herself into this world made her heart weaker.”

“And Oliver doesn’t have a soulmate anymore.” Swaine nodded carefully, rubbing his chin as he watched the fairy speak.

“Righto you are! Oliver doesn’t have any connection back in ouer world. Making his heart already a bit weaker, then he got Broken Hearted, and stayed Broken Hearted for how knows long.” Drippy paced around the table, the others followed him with their heads, slowly turning back and forth, “That’d make the poor lad’s heart even weaker.”

“So his heart just couldn’t take it and gave out…” Marcassin looked grim, Esther and Swaine looked at him, then looked back at Drippy, hoping he would disprove Marcassin’s theory.

“Maybe…” Drippy folded his arms and stared at Marcassin, “But if that were the case, wouldn’t he had given out at a big shock? Same as Alicia?” He raised an eyebrow and Marcassin looked confused.

“What are you saying?”

“I’m sayin’, Ollie’s not a normal boy. We all know this.” The fairy’s eyes were shut, he was getting closer to a conclusion, “If Ollie’s heart was really all set on givin’ up, ouer almost accident last night would have been a tidy little same. But it didn’t. It happened when he was standin’ and talking calmly. Not to mention there wasn’t anything wrong with him before.”

Swaine shook his head and sighed, “Yeah but that’s how this stuff works sometimes, you can’t tell when it’ll happen, it just does.”

Drippy nodded, he knew Swaine was right, but at the same time he seriously hoped his theory was right too, “True as that may be, I’m saying, maybe this wasn’t a failure of somethin’ in Ollie’s body, but some sort of magic attack. Something we can still stop.”

“If we complete Oliver’s heart again…?” Esther said slowly, as if she wasn’t sure of her answer, and she still didn’t look sure when Drippy snapped his fingers and pointed at her.

“Exactly! If we give Ollie-boy what’s he’s missing, he might just be able to pull through this!” Drippy hopped off the table and walked past the trio “C’mon you lot, we’ve got a cry-baby-bunting to save!” The fairy turned forward fully and kept walking, he paused when he saw the girl in front of him.  
Myrtle watched them in silent disbelief, “Just who are you…?” she asked, she had taken off her skates a while ago and she held them by their laces, “I thought you were just dressed weird because you were a bit eccentric, but you aren’t even from here are you?” she stepped a little bit and pointed at Drippy, “What even is that?!”

“Oi! I’m a fairy!”

Esther stepped forward, “Myrtle, you can trust us. We’ve known Oliver for a very long time!”

“How do I even know that’s true, I mean, I’ve never even heard of you before!” She swung her hands up, bumping herself in the face with her skates, “Where do you even come from?!?”

“Another world.” Marcassin said calmly, they all nodded, their faces completely serious. Myrtle didn’t move, or say anything. She just watched them, completely silent. She looked like she was considering several things at once. The others passed around nervous glances, worried of how she’ll react.

It felt like forever before she said anything “...Does this other world have magic and dragons, and… and cat people…?” They nodded, Myrtle tapped her fingers on her own arm, “And did Oliver used to go visit there a whole lot…?”

“Yeah, then one day he just stopped.” Swaine shrugged, “And we never saw him again.”

Myrtle nodded slowly, like she was confirming something for herself, it was a while before she spoke again.

“Oliver used to tell us these stories… about this amazing fantasy world, he said it was connected to ours…” She rubbed her arm, pondering “Apparently there were other versions of us in that world, and we were connected somehow.” She looked up at them again and her eyes locked with Esther’s, “....the girl from the dessert…” she quietly gasped.

Esther walked over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder, their eyes completely locked with one another’s, “We can save Oliver. Remember when he helped you, all those years ago?” Myrtle nodded, “Right, well this is something similar to that, that’s why we know we can help him!”

Myrtle looked down at her feet, and then back up to Esther “Okay. I trust you. I probably shouldn’t. But I do.” Her voice sounded determined and she balled her hands into fists, “What do you need?”

“We need his old locket, spellbook, and wand.” Marcassin stepped forward, “They have exactly what we need to save him.”

“Okay, okay,” Myrtle nodded a lot and tapped her chin, her face scrunched up as she tried to think, “they’re probably with Ms.Leila if they’re with anyone.” She snapped her fingers, “I can show you to her house! She doesn’t live too far from here!” before anyone else could say anything Myrtle rushed down the street, the now startled group quickly followed her.

And weren’t they and interesting little parade?

Myrtle running with all the padding for skating, but her skates held firmly in her hands, two young men dressed in a fancy steampunk sort of style, and one young girl dressed like she lived in a children’s fantasy novel set in the dessert. Only one of the looked like they belonged there. It was no doubt that they were getting weird looks from the people they passed.

They hurried up to a nice little house, it had a cute garden and it was nicely taken care of. Myrtle pushed up the gate of the white picket fence, and ushered them up the stone pathway to the door.

“She shouldn’t be at her shop yet,” she said before knocking on the door, “Ms.Leila? Are you home? It’s Myrtle!” She called out into the house, she waited in silence, leaning forward slightly to hear if there was movement in the house, “I think she’s coming.” Myrtle said with her ear practically against the door.

She jumped back, so was wasn’t hunched over against the door when she heard footsteps getting closer, Leila opened the door a gentle smile on her face as she greeted Myrtle, she marveled at how she’s getting, and Myrtle just laughed.

“You see me everyday, you know how big I am!” She smiled from ear to ear.

“I know, I know, dear.” Leila patted her arm, and sighed, “Now, what can I help you with sweetheart?”

“We’re looking for something,” Myrtle glanced back at the others for a reminder of what it was “it’s something of Oliver’s.”

“A green locket,” Esther started to list, “a spellbook, and a wand. We want to surprise him with them.” She lied, and when Myrtle gave her an odd look wondering why she was lying, Esther whispered to her “The less people are worrying, the better.”

“Hmm,” Leila tapped her chin as she thought to herself, she thought she knew what they were looking for but she wasn’t sure, “come in, come in.” She waved the group in, still thinking about where that stuff could be.

“Let me think now…” She said after everyone had come in, they stood in her living room glancing around at the pictures she had and at her furniture, “Oliver might have given me something like that to hold onto.”

Swaine turned around to look at some pictures on the wall, there was one of Oliver and Phil is dirty clothes standing around a shiny new car, presenting it happily to the camera, one of Oliver posing for the camera in his other world outfit, he was holding his wand up proudly. One that caught his eye was a picture of Oliver the bottom of the frame labeled it as “Oliver Freshmen Year” Oliver’s hair was fluffy and untamed, he had a huge smile on his face, he actually looked carefree and happy. Then he saw the picture nearby, labeled at “Oliver’s Graduation” It was a full body picture of Oliver in his graduation gown, he glared at the camera, the sparkle from his eyes was gone.

“It happened it highschool…” Swaine mumbled to himself, he was suddenly tapped on his arm and he turned around quickly “Huh?”

“And this clueless buffoon is my older brother, Gascon.” Marcassin introduced Swaine, who gave his brother a sharp glare and gently knocked him on the back of the head.

“Don’t be rude Marcy,” He pulled Marcassin into a side hug, “call me Swaine, all my friends do.” He smiled at Leila while he held his brother hostage in a death hug.

“Well it’s a pleasure to meet you all!” She smiled kindly at them, “It’s good to know Oliver made good friends like you all after he moved, he worries me sometimes.”

“He worries all of us,” Myrtle nodded, then turned to Esther and said something quietly to her “I’m gonna tell Leila what’s happened to Oliver. You go find what you’re looking for.” when Esther nodded she walked forward and gently took Leila’s hand, “Leila, something’s happened…. With Oliver…” She lead her to sit down, and started explaining what happened.

When she did Esther slowly backed out of the room. When she was out of the living room she had two options, go upstairs of go into the kitchen, she chose upstairs. She didn’t go up the stairs quick enough so everyone could hear her thumping up the steps, but she did hurry herself on up there.

She began poking around, not enough for it to be considered actual snooping, but enough to probably help her find what she was looking for. She pushed open the door to a bedroom, it was cleaned up nicely, and everything was organized. Esther stepped in fully, and began to walk around.

She could hear a quiet rattling coming from somewhere in the room, and her quest quickly become figuring out what that noise was.

As she walked around the room, she let the noise guide her. Only walking to where the noise got louder and louder, eventually leading herself to the room’s closest, she opened the door and didn’t see anything outright that was making the noise.

“Hmmm…” She lifted up clothing and looked inside boxes, she knew the rattling was certainly coming from here, “Where is it…?” she mumbled to herself, when something bumped her on the head and feel to her feet, “Huh?”

She bent down and picked up the object, it was a small figure of a man. He had a sword. She looked up from where it had fallen, the top shelf of the closet. The was a smallish box, with a few more of the figures on it, the lid of the box was rattling and slowly knocking the figurines off. She reached up and brushed the rest off, grabbing the box.

“What could possibly be in here…?” She hummed to herself, she held the box away from her face and flipped the latch off, when the lid didn’t go flying open, she slowly opened it herself. A green light poured from the box, she had to squint to look inside it. Carefully, she reached into the box and pulled out a round green locket. Glowing and bursting with energy. The box was still heavy though, there was something else inside, holding the locket out of sight so she could actually look inside, she leaned forward and peeked inside the box. A wand and a spellbook.

“Oliver you clever idiot!” She beamed, and shut the box up tight, holding the string of the locket in her hands, she hurried back downstairs and presented her finds to the group.

“There you go!” Drippy leaped up in joy, “You actually found it!”

“Thank the Gods,” Marcassin sighed, “ I was afraid we’d never find it!”

Swaine opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off of the sounds of screaming from outside the house, he looked over to the others, they shared the same confused and terrified look.

“What was that?” Myrtle hurried over to them, “Is everything okay?”

Swaine held a hand out, signaling her to stay back, he creaked open the front door. He could see people running, they were all running, and screaming. Something was chasing them. He pushed open the door more, and gasped.

“What is it Swaine?” Esther hurried to peak over his shoulder, and was horrified at what she saw. Monster from their world ran rampant through the town, chasing the innocent people. The monsters hadn’t been violent like this in ages though.

She squeezed under his arm and ran out into the street, she held up her harp and with a deep breath she strummed a song. It was supposed to calm the monster down, and it almost seemed like it worked for a second, but it didn’t last. After a beat of them turning to find the music source and staring at her for a bit, they blinked and went right back to their chaos.

“What?!” She looked down at her harp, “Why didn’t that work It always works!” she looked over to Swaine and Marcassin who were hurrying towards her, “My harp! It didn’t work!”

“These ain’t any normal beasties!” Drippy hopped up to her feet, “Somethin’s up with ‘em!”

“We need to get to Oliver!” Marcassin said, “Before any of these monsters do!”

“I’m afraid I can’t let you do that…” they turned to follow the voice, a young woman walked towards them, the monsters followed her close behind, they seemed to be listening to her.

Swaine stepped forward, “It’s you! What are you doing here?!” His brows were furrowed and his hands were balled into fists, but he made no motion from his gun, he just stared forward at her.

“I’m here to stop you,” She bowed her head, “so my dear big sister can achieve her dream.” She looked up at them again, and held her hand out, when she did the monsters began to walk forward, “He will die before you can reach him. But fear not, for you will soon join your friend!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really liked the idea of Myrtle and Esther being able to interact, it was very cute to me! My excuse for the other worlders being seen by the people in town is because Oliver had such a strong magical presence he infected them all.
> 
> Also, if you're sad about the heart attack scene, just be glad I didn't use the original draft, in which the heart attack happens while Oliver is knocking on Leila's door, and end up collapsed against it when she answers it. Or is the scene I did use sadder? I dunno.
> 
> If it wasn't clear btw, the spell Little Sister cast is what hurt Oliver.


End file.
